TamsIJungle

The critter below has just hit ebay:

It is described as follows:

I Got this phone couple weeks ago and was trying to figure out what is it through the Apple Store and through Apple Product Specialists. Nobody never gave me any info on it – they told me it’s an Apple Ptoduct, but they don’t service it, cause it have never been sold. Before the 3G S came out last Friday, iTunes was giving me error “iPhone can not be restored, because software for this iPhone is not available yet”. I tried to restore it on Friday and it took 3G S Firmware with the error after unpacking it “This device is not eligible for the requested build”. All I can see on the screen is the Apple Logo after I start it up and Conncect to iTunes Cable. Last time I was at the Apple store the Genius Guy told me that this is defenitely iPhone 3G S, He matched the Serial Number on the SIM Tray with the Serial Number on the LogicBoard – they are the same, but He told me, nothing he can do about it, because He was unable to locate the number in Apple’s Database.

I would be extremely careful, as this smells like a joke bid – further information can be had here:
ebay

Don’t ask me why Apple has not enabled MMS on iPhone 2G devices running IOS 3.0 – I know of hundreds of EDGE-only devices which are capable of sending and receiving MMS just fine.

Hackint0sh member micked has now posted the following instructions, which enable MMS for the iPhone 2G:

How to make mms on 2g with 3.0 firmware.
1. For install copy mms2g.deb to iphone in folder, for example /var/root
2. Then in same folder (/var/root) in terminal input: dpkg -i mms2g.deb
3. Reboot.
or
1. Extract files from Patch.zip to iphone to folders same as arhive. For CommCenter chmod 755.
2. Reboot.

In settings adjust apn, user, password.

His announcement caused a sandstorm of action; which ended up in a ready-made Cydia package which can be installed onto jailbroken boxen with difficulty.

Hit the link above for more info – and keep us posted on how it goes…

The iphone-dev-team has just posted the following to its web site:

You’ve seen us give this warning before, and there are only so many ways to say it or come up with a clever title But here it is: ultrasn0w users must stay away from any firmware updates past 3.0 (including today’s 3.1 beta) until we release the tools that let you update the firmware without updating the baseband. For most phones out there, baseband updates are irreversible and you’ll lose ultrasn0w.

The 3.0 jailbreak was one of those (rare) times where both the jailbreak and the unlock coincided (the only other time was 2.2). It’s important that people realize that *most* firmware releases aren’t like that, and you need to take steps (via the tools) to separate the firmware update from its included baseband update.

This warning does not apply to the iPhone 2G, which uses BootNeuter for the unlock, not ultrasn0w.

Looks like my initial assessment was spot-on…

The picture below is courtesy of Engadget – they unfortunately don’t really have any further info either:

P.S. I dare to predict that this update will try to make unlocking a bit more difficult – we will see how it all plays out…

Krusell is a huge Swedish manufacturer of protective cases. Their top list tends to be somehwhat representative for “average users” – and saw some severe changes this month.

RIM fell out, Palm didn’t get in (no wonder due to European focus)….and Sony Ericsson has gone amiss too:

1. (3) Nokia 6300
2. (-) Apple iPhone 3G
3. (-) HTC Touch Diamond 2
4. (2) Nokia 3109
5. (-) Nokia E51
6. (1) Nokia 5800
7. (5) Nokia E71
8. (6) HTC Touch HD
9. (-) HTC Magic
10. (-)HTC Touch Pro2

11. (4) Samsung SGH-i900/i910 Omnia

() = Last month’s position.

Last month Nokia took a Grand Slam by taking all Top 3 positions at Krusell’s best seller list for May. The list in June also gives an impression something is happening in the market. Nokia takes 5 out of 10 positions, HTC takes 4 and Apple one. Samsung, LG and Sony Ericsson are all out of the list.

To me it is surprising even the previous best seller Omnia had to leave the list this month, says Ulf Sandberg MD at Krusell. Yet another surprise is that everybody in the industry always talks about how short the lifecycles of mobile phones have become. This month’s No 1, Nokia 6300, was introduced in February 2007 in Krusell’s assortment and is now back on the No 1 position 28 months later, he ends.

People who own more than one handset can tell a tale of the charger eekers – every manufacturer has at least one (usually two or more) incompatible charger types.

This is not only annoying (extra weight), but also bad for the environment. As such things tend to attract EU regulators attention, manufacturers had to act – Yahoo Tech reports the following:

…

The agreement by Nokia, Sony Ericsson and other industry majors will mean phones compatible with standard charging devices are available in Europe from next year, said the EU executive, which has pushed for such a deal.

…

The Commission said the agreement would involve the creation of an EU norm, and that the new generation of mobile phones would use a standard micro-USB socket to ensure compatibility.

…

According to them, the situation will go even further: chargers and handsets will be unbundled one day (which would lead to even lower handset prices).

Even though I personally prefer MiniUSB as I feel it handles better, MicroUSB nevertheless seems to be a pretty robust solution. My Nokia XPressMusic 5800 is still alive and kicking, and Nokia’s large-scale roll-out has started with the Nokia N85 (review here)…

P.S. Apple is part of the deal…

Being on the bleeding edge of all things tech usually does not pay out as you get to pay the infamous early adopter’s premium (Expansys, anyone?). The iPhone 3Gs is no different – but the deal will likely be sweetened up quote a bit by the following email which has hit loads of inboxes recently:

Dear Apple Customer,

Thank you for your recent Apple Store order. We appreciate your patience and apologize for the inconvenience caused by the delay in your iPhone activation.

We are still resolving the issue that was encountered while activating your iPhone with AT&T. Unfortunately, due to system issues and continued high activation volumes, this could take us up to an additional 48 hours to complete.

On Monday, you’ll receive an email from Apple with an iTunes Store credit in the amount of $30. We hope you will enjoy this gift and accept our sincere apologies for the inconvenience this delay has caused.

Thank you for choosing Apple.

Sincerely,
Apple Online Store Team

Anyone got this?

I’d file this straight under Do not try this at home – but let’s let the video’s creator speak for himself:

Was trying video on my new iPhone 3G S at the pool and dropped it in the pool. Don’t know if it’s waterproof, but it still works fine.

…

Anyways – full video here:

I have to honestly admit that I wonder whether Apple doesn’t endorse iPod touch users upgrading their devices illicitly to a large extent – the process is just too easy. Anyways – follow the steps below to achieve an iPod touch running OS 3.0 – for free.

Update iTunes to 8.2 – avoid error 10 failures
This one is absolutely essential. You _MUST_ have iTunes 8.2 installed on your box – trust me if I tell you that no other firmware version does the trick!

Find an OS 3.0 ipsw file for your device
If you have iTunes 8.2 up and running, the next step involves finding an ipsw file for your box. For the iPod touch 1G, the bold parts of the name of my example file must match the name of your file: iPod Touch 1G 3.0 Gold Master Final – iPod1,1_3.0_7A341_Restore.ipsw. iPod touch 2G heads need a version for iPod 2,1; neither can use a file designated iPhone.

Install the ipsw file
The next step is straightforward. Install the ipsw file – follow the steps outlined here. Don’t worry about the licensing contract – it is displayed, but there is no cost involved whatsoever.

Once this is done, your iPod touch should run OS 3.0. I was loaned an iPod touch 1G with 3.0, and have not found anything so far – stay tuned for further info as I figure out more!

P.S. I really think that Apple has no issues with the process outlined above. If they would, they could always hardcode the serial number of the device into the firmware image, thereby eliminating the possibility to share it. I start to believe Steve Jobs’s accounting talk…

Note to any Apple guy reading: this blog is hosted in Austria, a country with intact press freedom for technology journalists. Tamoggemon does NOT condone or recommend the usage of pirated firmware! So: please leave us alone.

Don’t ask me why Apple introduced a parental rarting feature in version 3 of its IOS – it looks like Apple’s pretty radical stance on all things nude has not changed.

CNet reports that a developer who created an application which displayed topless pictures of girls got his app pulled – the official statement they got was the following:

… Apple will not distribute applications that contain inappropriate content, … The developer of this application added inappropriate content directly from their server after the application had been approved and distributed, and after the developer had subsequently been asked to remove some offensive content. This was a direct violation of the terms of the iPhone Developer Program. The application is no longer available on the App Store. …

The strange thing about this rejection is that the developer himself claimed to have disabled the app due to server overloads – let’s see how this all plays out…

Image shot at Rainbow Parade 2008 in Vienna – carrying a camera on you at all times pays…